Australian Association for Research in Education

International Education Research Conference

Brisbane 2008

30 November - 4 December 2008

FIL081140

A Smarter Way to Teach Physics

Cheryl Fillmore
(fillmorec@immanuel.qld.edu.au)
Associate Professor Juhani Tuovinen
(jtuovinen@usc.edu.au)

University of the Sunshine Coast

ABSTRACT

Physics education is in crisis as the number of students studying Physics at all levels is declining rapidly.
Physics is a difficult subject to learn where maximum effort is required and the resulting grades may not always
reflect the effort that students have expended.

This research reports a smarter way to teach Physics. The cognitive load theory was used to understand the
reasons why Physics is so hard to learn and then to design instructional materials and to select the Tablet PC as
the best supporting technology to assist students to cope with the innate complexity of Physics.

The resulting Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy was trialled in the researcher’s high school Physics classes using
design-based research methods. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected and a blended methods
approach was used to assess the effect of the pedagogy on students’ learning outcomes and students’
perceptions of the reasons for its success. Evidence suggested that students learned Physics better when the
teacher taught using the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy and that the reasons for the improvement support the
cognitive load theory. The results will be generalisable to learning in other complex cognitive subjects (such as
mathematics, engineering and computer science) at high school level or university level.

This research is timely and significant because there are few studies providing empirical evidence that the use of
Tablet PCs in teaching improves students’ learning outcomes and those reported come from the university sector
rather than from the secondary school sector.

INTRODUCTION

Physics education is in crisis in Australia, in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the United States of
America (USA) as the number of students studying Physics at all levels is declining rapidly. There are
dire predictions of the consequences for industrialized societies as fewer and fewer technical
innovators emerge from the education systems (Smithers and Robinson, 2007). The reasons include a
lack of specialist Physics teachers and a perception amongst students that Physics is too hard
(Smithers and Robinson, 2007). Physics is a difficult subject to learn where maximum effort is
required and the resulting grades may not always reflect the effort that students have expended (Prow,
2003).
Tablet PCs are not widely used in primary and secondary schools in Australia (Neal & Davidson,
2008) and there are few published studies from Australian schools research. Similarly, the majority of
recent international publications about the educational use of Tablet PCs have centred on university
level research (Neal and Davidson, 2008). The United Kingdom provides an exception as schools in
the UK were early adopters of Tablet PC technology and the British literature refers to numerous
Tablet PC projects in primary and secondary school settings (Sheehy et al, 2005). However, the
majority of studies refer to the very expensive student-centred model for Tablet PC use with one
Tablet PC per student. The majority of these studies report the ways in which the technology was
used and include attitudinal survey data. Wise, Toto and Lim (2006) suggest the need for research
which provides a direct measure of the effect of Tablet PC usage on actual student performance data.
This research provides such data in a high school Physics classroom setting with the much more
affordable teacher-centred model with one Tablet PC per classroom used predominantly by the teacher
as a teaching tool.

The research reported here, conducted in 2007/2008 with high school Physics classes, developed and
evaluated the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy integrating the digital inking capabilities of the Tablet PC
with an electronic workbook. The electronic workbook contains a structured but incomplete record of
the information, diagrams and images pertinent to the lesson. As the lesson develops through dynamic
teacher/class interactions elaborating on the basic material in the electronic workbook, the teacher
annotates the electronic workbook and the students annotate their own paper copy of the workbook. A
single Tablet PC connected to the Internet and a data projector in an otherwise standard classroom was
used.

The Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy is grounded in Cognitive Load Theory and incorporates the
principles of Multimedia Learning (Mayer, 2001).

Significant improvements in learning outcomes were achieved.

BACKGROUND THEORY

The capabilities and limitations of the human cognitive architecture are important determinants to take
into account when designing learning systems for education. Human cognitive architecture is thought
to consist of a sensory memory, a working memory and a long-term memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin,
1968; Baddeley, 1990). Figure 1 illustrates this model.

Figure 1: Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model (Adapted from Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)
Sensory information is first processed in the sensory memory and then passed onto the working
memory. The working memory is the space where conscious processing or thinking occurs. However,
the working memory has limited capability for processing, where only a few elements, usually
considerably less than ten, can be processed simultaneously (Miller, 1956). How then is conscious
thought carried out? The secret lies in the long-term memory and its memory structures, called
schemas. The capacity of the long-term memory is huge. The working memory can draw on the
contents of the long-term memory and on the instantaneous sensations received form the outside world
to solve problems.

Since individual memorized elements are linked together in networks or schemas in the long term
memory, they can be treated as single elements or chunks to be processed by the working memory,
and thereby relieve its congestion. When the working memory is congested its processing becomes
erratic, leading to poor problem solving and learning. However, even if schemas are recalled from the
long-term memory there are still major limits on the possible processing by the working memory. The
Cognitive Load Theory (Paas, Renkl, & Sweller, 2004; Sweller, van Merriënboer, & Paas, 1998) was
developed as researchers sought to find effective ways around these processing limitations. Some of
the key findings of the Cognitive Load Theory (in particular, The Split Attention Effect and the use of
completion tasks) provide a basis for understanding the results of investigations into the effects that
Tablet PCs may have on learning.

It is thought that the cognitive processing load involved in learning something new consists of three
main types. Firstly, there is the intrinsic cognitive load of processing the essential aspects of the new
content without which it is impossible to learn the new material. Secondly, there is the extrinsic load,
where superfluous aspects of the way the learning task is presented add a harmful extra amount to the
overall processing load. Thirdly, there is the germane cognitive load associated with additional helpful
processing demand which leads to better learning of the content (Paas, et al., 2004). Figure illustrates
the three components of cognitive load.

Figure 2: The three components of the cognitive load experienced by students as they learn.

In a complex subject such as Physics where there are many interacting elements which must be
processed simultaneously for understanding to occur, the intrinsic cognitive load of the material to be
learned is high. Consequently, it is important that the instructional materials and methods used to
present the information is carefully planned so as not to unnecessarily introduce additional cognitive
load (extraneous cognitive load). Paradoxically, students learn better if germane cognitive load is
introduced by actively directing students’ attention to the activities and information pertinent to
schema construction. Figures 3 and 4 summarise some ways in which extraneous cognitive load may
be reduced and germane cognitive load increased. Each of these suggestions was incorporated in to the
design of the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy. A selection of the most salient suggestions will now be
discussed in more detail.
Figure 3: Ways in which extraneous cognitive load was decreased in the Tablet/Workbook
Pedagogy
Split- Physically integrate multiple sources
attention of information.
effect Temporal/spatial contiguity

Make use of audio and visual modes

Multiple Modality for multiple sources of information:
sources of effect diagrams, images, movies,
information
animations

Redundancy
Eliminate redundant information.
effect
Minimise
extraneous
cognitive
load
Search Reduce search

Problem
solving Worked
Provide worked examples for novices
practice example
questions rather than problem solving practice.
effect

Figure 4: Ways in which germane cognitive load was increased in the Tablet/Workbook
Pedagogy
Chandler and Sweller found that if the information was scattered over many different physical places,
the students’ working memories would be so occupied by the extraneous cognitive load (load that is
not beneficial for new schema construction), that there was very little, if any, room for beneficial
development of new understanding (Chandler & Sweller, 1992). This is known as the Split Attention
Effect.

Their solution was to integrate the text and graphics into a single entity avoiding the harmful
unnecessary search for information. In teaching with Tablet PCs and workbooks, teachers reduce the
extraneous student searching. The annotations on the Tablet PC are added to an existing presentation
of information, which is then recorded in workbooks by the students. Thus the tablet display and the
students’ workbook documentation are contiguous, both spatially and temporarily (Mayer, 2001),
reducing harmful split-attention effects.

The second relevant effect was the use of completion tasks to raise the engagement of students with
the learning content (Van Merriënboer & De Croock, 1992) while keeping the working memory load
within reasonable limits. This is especially important for learning the complex material found in
physics or mathematics courses. Reading a large number of worked examples is better for learning
than solving many problems (Ward & Sweller, 1990). However, Van Merriënboer and De Croock
(Van Merriënboer & De Croock, 1992) found that sometimes students did not study the worked
examples sufficiently to benefit from them. Thus they compelled the students to read the worked
examples carefully, by providing partly completed worked examples, which students had to read in
order to be able to complete the remaining part of the exercise.

The Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy incorporates completion tasks. The workbooks already contain a
considerable amount of the knowledge representation, but students add more detail to complete the
workbook record following the teacher’s annotations on the Tablet PC in an identical electronic
workbook. Thus to understand the added work that is being presented by the teacher, the student has to
first attend to the given information, i.e. the worked out part of the problem. Then they need to apply
the learned information to solve the remainder of the problem. A variety of types and difficulty of
problems is presented (The Variability Effect (Paas, F., Renkl, A., & Sweller, J., 2004)) and support in
solving the problems is gradually withdrawn (The Guidance-Fading Effect (Paas and Kalyuga 2005)).

THE RESEARCH CONTEXT

The research was conducted at an independent school in Queensland. The participants were the
members of the 2007 Year 11 and Year 12 Physics classes. The primary researcher was their Physics
teacher. All students were invited to participate with 37 students accepting including 28 boys and 9
girls. This represents 93% of the cohort.

The classroom was arranged so that the large screen (1800mm x 1800mm) was positioned high
(860mm from the floor) in a darker corner of the room without the need for curtaining (see Figures 5
and 6). The screen had a matt finish to reduce glare and was angled towards the students. Neither the
students nor the teacher needed to be directly in the projector’s light beam. This arrangement complies
with recently published guidelines for the safe use of data projectors (British Health and Safety
Executive (HSE), 2007). The same cannot be said for the way in which interactive whiteboards are
often used.

Students frequently commented in interviews about the way this arrangement improved classroom
logistics. Typical examples of student comments are provided:

‘The projector screen is larger than the whiteboard. It's easy to see … no glare.’

‘The teacher is not in the way of writing.’

Figure 5: Schematic layout of the Physics classroom

Figure 6: Photograph of the Physics classroom

TABLET/WORKBOOK PEDAGOGY

The workbooks contained a structured but incomplete record of the information, diagrams and images
pertinent to the lesson. As the lesson developed through dynamic teacher/class interactions, it was
captured by the teacher in digital ink in the electronic workbook. Students completed the missing
details (key terms, worked examples, annotations over diagrams, results of experiment, etc.) in their
paper workbooks. This method of note-taking uses limited class time very efficiently and allows more
time to be devoted to the activities, discussions and problem solving which assist students to construct
meaning and develop schemas.

The electronic workbook stores a full colour record of the lesson for future reference (e.g. later
classroom review or for electronic transmission to absent students). Figure 7 shows an annotated page
from an electronic workbook. The students typically commented very favorably on this aspect of the
pedagogy.

‘It’s easy to catch up on missed work or go over previous work.’

Online digital resources feature and add an engaging visual element to lessons. This satisfies students’
demands to “show me – don’t just tell me!” Instant availability of information, images, animations
and videos adds a real world flavor to the lessons and provides the flexibility to pursue questions and
suggestions offered by students during classroom discussions.
Figure 7: An annotated page from an electronic workbook.

THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

As the research was conducted in the context of normal 2007 Year 11 and Year 12 Physics classes, it
was neither ethically nor practically possible to rigidly control all experimental variables. Design
experiment methodology is suited to this real world environment and was the natural choice of
methodology for this project (Brown, 1992; Cobb, Confrey, diSessa, Lehrer, & Schauble, 2003). A
Blended Methods approach was chosen to enable collection of data from several perspectives,
allowing triangulation of results (Thomas, 2003).

All participants completed a survey to sample their perceptions and opinions about learning with the
Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy. They were then given an opportunity to elaborate verbally in an
interview situation. Quantitative data about student learning outcomes was collected in the form of
their Year 11 and Year 12 Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) verified scores.
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Student Assessment Data

The 2007 Year 12 class was the focus of the project as they had learned predominantly with the
traditional pedagogy in Year 11 and the new Tablet/Workbook pedagogy in Year 12. The primary
researcher was their teacher for both years. A paired sample t test was used to compare their QSA
verified scores for Year 11 and Year 12. A significant improvement was noted in the cohort’s average
score from 65.6%, SD = 14.4, in Year 11 to 72.1%, SD = 16.0, in Year 12, t(15) = 4.269, p < 0.05.
The detailed results are shown in Table 1.

A gender-based analysis of the scores showed a significant improvement in the boys’ average score
from 66.1%, SD = 13.8 to 74.1%, SD = 14.6, t(10) = 4.349. p < 0.05. A small improvement in the
girls’ scores was not statistically significant with only five girls in the cohort.

It may be argued that students’ grades will always show an improvement from Year 11 to Year 12
with the students’ growing maturity. To test this hypothesis, a control group was sought where the
class was taught by the same teacher over the two years using traditional pedagogy. The only suitable
data set available was the 2000/2001 cohort.

The control group showed no significant improvement in results for all students or for boys or girls
individually (see Table 2). This is despite the fact that the control cohort was twice the size of the
2007 group.

Table 1: Comparison of QSA Verified Raw Scores for 2006/2007 group (Paired Samples t Test)
Year 11 Year 12
Grouping N Mean SD Mean SD t df p Comment
% % % %
All 16 65.6 14.4 72.1 16.0 4.269 15 .001 Significant improvement

Female 5 64.4 17.3 67.5 19.8 1.407 4 .232 No significant change

Male 11 66.1 13.8 74.1 14.6 4.349 10 .001 Significant improvement

Table 2: Comparison of QSA Verified Raw Scores for 2000/2001 control group (Paired Samples
t Test)
Year 11 Year 12
Grouping N Mean SD Mean SD t df p Comment
% % % %
All 34 60.8 14.3 62.1 16.4 0.738 33 .466 No significant change

Female 10 63.9 13.2 62.7 13.3 -0.407 9 .693 No significant change

Male 24 59.8 14.8 61.8 17.8 1.159 23 .258 No significant change

Figures 8 - 10 show these comparisons graphically.

Figure 8: Comparison of Physics Grades for all students taught with Tablet/Workbook
Pedagogy with Control Group

Figure 9: Comparison of Physics Grades for Male students taught with

Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy with Control Group
Figure 10: Comparison of Physics Grades for Female students taught with
Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy with Control Group

Survey data

A survey collected information about the students’ attitudes to different aspects of learning with the
Tablet/Workbook pedagogy. A five point Likert (Very Negative to Very Positive) was used. The
aggregated median response summarising the students’ attitudes to learning with the Tablet/Workbook
Pedagogy was “Very Positive” with χ2 (df = 4, n = 146) = 338, p < 0.05. This data is displayed in
Figure 11.
Figure 11: Student survey responses aggregating students’ attitudes to different aspects of
learning with the Tablet/Workbook pedagogy.

RI 1 Part A
TABLET/WORKBOOK a ttitude
for Items A3,A12,A13,A14

100

75
Count

50

25

n=1 n=30 n=115

0
Very Negative

Negative

Not Sure

Very Positive
Positive

Students used another five point scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree) to respond to a set of
statements. For instance, the median response to the statement, “I think that Physics concepts are
easier to understand when the teacher uses the tablet computer to help to explain them.” was “Agree”
with χ2 (df = 4, n = 36) = 37.3, p < 0.05. The same is true for the statement, “It is better to use a tablet
computer in class than an interactive whiteboard.” with χ2 (df = 4, n = 36) = 26.0, p < 0.05. This data
is displayed in Figures 12 and 13.

Figure 12: Student survey responses to the statement: ‘I think that Physics concepts are easier to
understand when the teacher uses the tablet computer to help to explain them.’

N Valid = 36

N Missing = 1

Median = Agree

χ2( DF=4, n=146) = 37.333,

p < .001
Figure 13: Student survey responses to the statement: ‘It is better to use a tablet computer in
class than an interactive whiteboard.’
RI 1 QC13 opinion
"It is be tter to use a tablet computer in class
than an interactiv e white board."

12
Count

n=9 n=13 n=14

0
Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree
Indifferent/Undecided

DISCUSSION

The introduction of the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy in Physics lessons has resulted in a measurable
improvement in learning outcomes. This finding is consistent with the survey results and the
background theory. Typical student comments about the way in which the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy
assists their learning give an insight into the mechanisms by which the improvements are achieved.

Student comments suggest that a reduction in cognitive load can be achieved through use of the
workbooks and the scaffolding provided. They also reflect on the way the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy
reduces split attention and improves schema development (Chandler & Sweller, 1992).

Spatial contiguity (Mayer, 2001) is enhanced by the inclusion of diagrams and images, with space for
the annotations resulting from dynamic interactions between the teacher and the class. Instant access
to online resources also ensures an element of temporal contiguity (Mayer, 2001) which can be
responsive to student suggestions. This unique combination of both temporal and spatial contiguity
with reduced split attention heightens motivation.

The electronic workbook and the annotations include relevant, visually stimulating, colourful images
exploiting the Multimedia Principle which states that students learn better from words and pictures
than from words alone (Mayer, 2001).

The following student comments are typical of those collected during the research:

‘I found the use of the workbook a huge help. It meant that I could read ahead … and stay ahead of
the class.’
‘The workbooks would not be nearly as able in teaching if they were used in conjunction with normal
whiteboard techniques, instead of the tablet and overhead projection. The effect that the two have
together is quite substantial.’

‘Working along with the teacher is one of the best aspects of the tablet computer.’

‘with a subject like physics, the aim of the teacher is to take huge complex ideas, and explain them in
the simplest way possible, which 9 out of 10 times requires a diagram of the situation to be drawn, on
the electronic workbook, and the notes working around that diagram … a normal laptop restricts you
to simply working between the lines.’

‘However, the downright greatest by-product of the use of a tablet pc is the fact that it significantly
improves a student’s enthusiasm for learning. It’s something different, new, and exciting. We can be
going through our normal theory work when the teacher will say “look at this link”, and in a split
second we are ... watching electrons spiral … as they pass through a magnetic field, or watching an
under-engineered bridge buckle and fall to the ground. We can learn our theory, then immediately
watch real life aspects of it, helping to deepen our understanding of it all, but keeping us enthused and
interested at the same time. With this enthusiasm comes a greater motivation and … academic
performance increases.’

Some student comments hint at possible extensions to theory and relate to the unique characteristics of
pen-based technology. There may be an additional element of contiguity (Mayer, 2001), which relates
to the dynamic development of a handwritten record of the lesson.

‘To be able to look down and see what you are doing, then look at the screen and see the teacher
doing the exact same thing, somehow works to click everything into a greater perspective. It helps
somehow to link that question to that setting out, which for some reason stores in your memory much
more efficiently. And when I am reading through my workbook, when preparing for an exam, it
somehow triggers the memory more efficiently, of the exact process the teacher used, when she did it
on the tablet.’

‘Handwritten notes … show a more natural flow of formulas and working.’

CONCLUSIONS

The use of the tablet/workbook pedagogy produced significant improvements in learning. Previous
experience in senior Physics of using Tablet PC’s or workbooks in isolation did not produce marked
improvements in learning. So the evidence argues for a highly powerful synergy between tablet PC’s,
workbooks and teachers employing appropriate pedagogy. Each of these factors contributes
significantly to the students’ success.

Comments made by students in a survey and in interviews reinforce this finding and offer insights into
the reasons for the improvements that resonate with the Cognitive Load Theory and the established
principles of Multimedia Learning.

A final comment made by Matthew Jones, dux of the 2007 Physics class aptly summarises the success
of the Tablet/Workbook Pedagogy in assisting students to learn Physics.

‘All in all, my perspective as a student who has been confronted by both identical physics classes with
and without a tablet pc, is that this piece of equipment, when optimized by the use of workbooks and in
conjunction with a teacher who is both enthusiastic about learning and adventurous in different
approaches to teaching, has the potential to increase student performance. It does this by giving the
teacher more flexibility to conquer different learning styles, with the use of the internet and other
audio visual accessories, by creating a greater enthusiasm in the students towards learning, and by
bridging the gap between the work done by the teacher to teach, and the work done by the students to
learn.’

Tablet PCs really do facilitate a smarter way to teach Physics.

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